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Friday, July 6, 2012

Super Useful (Fitness) Travel Links 7.6.12

So, planning my own trip for the fall to Sunny California and realizing that I’ll be walking about 42 miles per day at the various theme parks and more I’ll be visiting, I have realized that even though I have stayed in places that have had on-site exercise facilities and I’ve gone to check them out and even take pictures, I’ve not once actually gone to use the equipment provided. I’ll admit it. I’m a total exercise hater. I will walk if I have a destination or do Pilates or go to the gym if I have a partner that makes me do it/go with them, but I hate to exercise on my own and set aside time for it. I’ve been working on how to psyche myself up to start working out again, because once I get into a routine, I am loathe to quit it, and figure I can’t be the only one with this problem.
Salad

Even worse is when I’m on vacation. If I’m not on the move to get to one monument or tourist site or another, I’m probably at a restaurant, kicking back and eating something fried. I’m going to attempt to change that with this next trip and eat better food and try to eat less of it, even though I am constantly hungry while I’m traveling. I also would love to bring along some sort of device to keep me on track with my eating and exercise. You know, so I’ll feel guilty when I don’t exercise. I mean, it’s probably not going to get use on park days, where I really probably walk 93,847,393 steps in a day, but on those off days, where I’m just hanging around the timeshare doing laundry and still refusing to go to the actual workout room.

Photo Credit
If you are like me and have a hard time concentrating on fitness at home and on the road, maybe we should download one of these two apps:
MyFitnessPal – Available for any phone that lets you add an app. Through an easy to use interface, you can track all the calories you eat in a day. Choose foods from a comprehensive list at each meal you eat (which is even easier if you are out to eat, because you’ve got time to do this in between ordering and receiving your plate of food or while you are waiting for the check. If you eat/drink the same things a lot, those items are saved for easy checkability and you can quickly see where you are throughout the day with your calories, carbs, fat and protein. You can even search for foods (like what is on a menu at your favorite restaurant) and drop it into your food diary.
Want to log your exercise, too? MyFitnessPal has a big long list of exercise routines to choose from and you can put in how much you weigh and how long you did it to figure out how many calories you burned. Just try not to cheat, because you’re only lying to yourself.
InBloom – Only downloadable on iTunes for now, the InBloom app helps you find good food choices when you are out. Right now they cover New York, LA, San Francisco and Chicago, but are expanding by leaps and bounds as folks clamor for new locations. The app features listings for restaurants, famers markets, stores, grocers, hotels and even more of green businesses that use renewable energy. You can also search by dietary preference/restrictions, like vegan, vegetarian, raw and gluten-free. It’s the perfect way to eat well and shop and dine at places with your same values.
Invention on Quirky
While not on the market yet, I love this idea for a fancy new jump rope. It is equipped with Bluetooth that connects to your iPhone, iPod or iPad and keeps track of your jumping. It also shows you how many calories you’ve burned – which is a big problem with just jumping willy-nilly – monitors your heartbeat and would be really easy to pack. Of course, this wouldn’t be just a good travel item, as it would make sense to work it into your exercise routine at home (or use solely as) and then keep up with your jumping and progress while on vacation. Jumping rope is an awesome workout, easy and you can pretty much find a place to do it anywhere – preferably outside.
Photo Credit
 Off the fitness track for a minute, although sightseeing could still be considered a workout, and lighten your load by leaving the heavy guidebooks at home and downloading some audiobooks or travel guides. USA Today rounds up the best places to find audiobooks at affordable prices. Sometimes, it’s hard to read a book while working out or laying on the beach – all those bright sun rays – so an audiobook is an awesome option. I also love them on road trips as an alternative to music.

Hopefully, you found some use in my inability to talk myself off the couch and these great reasons to make a workout happen, to help you keep your bikini bod and feel stronger and healthier. I’m going to try it. Starting next week, I’m going to make myself exercise for at least 20-30 minutes a day and I’ll check in with you periodically to let you know if I’ve been successful or lazy. Heck, I have a Hoopnotica hoop that even makes it not boring! You can check in with me, too, or make one of your real-life friends responsible for giving you the disappointed face. Good luck!

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